Are you creating accde file (Run time)?

.accdr might not have the options

I am using a .accde, which I had hoped would hide Options in the File menu and prevent users from changing the startup options I set. What is the value in setting startup options to hide the navigation pane and the ribbon if users can quickly turn them back on? I don't want to have to distribute runtime Access. Is that what other developers are doing?

Jennifer Neighbors I just tested what you are saying, and I am surprised that the users can change the start Form.
This is one for Richard.

Yes, it is indeed a problem that nothing you do can hide the file options menu. I wish there was a setting to turn this off. I've tried for hours, but no matter what you do, even disabling the ribbon and creating your own custom ribbon, there's no way to prevent the user from getting into file options.

So, they could pick a different startup form if they really wanted to. What I teach in the security seminar is that your database isn't going to have any links to the back-end tables in your front-end database. You're not keeping those links active. So, even if the user picks a different startup form and they open up the Customer form, it's not going to be linked to the Customer table at that point. So, they just get an error message.

What my security seminar teaches you to do is when the database opens, the front-end database immediately opens a logon form. The logon form will check your username and password against the User table in the back-end, but it doesn't do it through a link. It opens up a recordset connection to it, and then once that is valid, it will link all of the tables. When the database shuts down, it will unlink all of the tables. That is the method that I use. And I've been doing it for 20 years and I've got multiple clients using it, and it's good enough security for the average small office.

But like I always say, the only 100% secure way to protect your data is to use a Microsoft Access front-end and an SQL Server back-end. Access by itself just does not have that level of security. I am very surprised that users can get in there and change that form too, but as far as I can tell, there's no way to disable it. So that's what I do; I just unlink the tables, and if they do change the startup form, they're just not going to have any data.

You could also write a routine that runs in the AutoExec macro that checks to make sure that if any other forms are open, it closes them because the startup form is going to run first. Then you can have an AutoExec macro run right after that, and the AutoExec macro can close any other open forms and open up the logon form. That is certainly possible, and I've done that before.

Richard,
I've tried to open the thread I had about a year ago on this subject but to no avail. The thread was titled "Privacy Options". I can't remember all the details, but I know the mods walked me through creating a new Menu to turn off the "Options" under the File tab, something to do with the Default Ribbon, I think. How can I review the posts on this thread? This may help Jennifer (and others) with this particular problem.

William, was it this one?

Matt,
It was, thank you. "UsysRibbons" was the term I couldn't remember. This worked perfectly for me.